Increasing the Diversity of Tech Startup Founders

Minority-owned businesses are being formed at a faster rate than non-minority-owned businesses nationwide, and their economic impact is growing rapidly. In the tech industry this trend is reflected in the growing number of African American, Hispanic and Asian founders of tech startups. However, minority-owned ventures are awarded just 1% of venture and angel funding that is used to develop startups into successful enterprises. Our nation will benefit from the economic impact of the increasing number of diverse tech entrepreneurs. We need to increase access to the resources that will enable these founders to accelerate the growth of their ventures into large enterprises. Key resources needed to address this gap include mentors, tech accelerators and investors. Now is the time to build national and international awareness of how to create a more inclusive tech entrepreneurship community and engage the resources needed to stimulate the innovation that more diverse tech founders bring.